Blog by IQ Formulations CEO Jay Cohen

The following is a blog post authored by IQ Formulations CEO Jay Cohen.

My name is Jay Cohen, and as CEO of IQ Formulations I wanted to utilize our new website to address an issue which was reported last year in the press.

An article that ran in USA Today titled “Makers of Tainted Supplements Have Criminal Pasts” was an indictment of the nutritional supplement industry in general, and unfairly singled me out regarding an incident in my past which had nothing to do with IQ Formulations or the positive values that our company strongly embodies.

As those who know me will attest, I am an open book and a straight shooter. I subscribe to the philosophy that honesty is the best policy, and I am a passionate person who wears my heart on my sleeve. I also value my family above all else. That devotion to my loved ones led to an unfortunate incident in 2008 which I want to explain here since it was impossible to do so at length in the newspaper article, in which IQ Formulations and I played a very small part.

Let me start by stating that I have always tried to be a model husband, father, employer and friend. The newspaper article reawakened a painful moment from my past personal life that I wish would have never happened. But unfortunately it did happen, so I would like to address it in the only way I know how—with candor.

Six years ago, after going to bed for the night I was suddenly awakened by loud sounds coming from the rear of my residence. When I looked out the window into my backyard to see what was going on I found myself face to face with a stranger. I was startled and scared and acted quickly to do what I thought was best to ensure the safety of my wife and two children who were in our home asleep.

I rushed out the door, grabbing for protection the small landscape pruning blade that my wife uses for gardening. (The reporter who wrote the article referencing the incident used the word machete, which obviously sounds much more dramatic.)

I immediately found myself confronted by four men, one of whom had a beer bottle in his hand and made a threatening gesture toward me with it. My safety and the safety of my family was in jeopardy and I feared these intruders might try to force their way into my home so I struck their vehicle, which was parked in my driveway, in an attempt to get them to leave. It worked, and the four men sped away.

I was flooded with a sense of relief that nobody was hurt, and that I was able to get the trespassers out of my yard without any harm coming to my wife, kids or me. I called 911 to report what had just occurred. You can imagine my surprise when the police pulled up to my house, interviewed my neighbors and me about the incident and then decided to place me under arrest for having struck the side mirror of the car. They didn’t arrest the four intruders who showed up at my house in the middle of the night—just me.

Prior to this tragic event, my only other brush with the law was a traffic ticket for speeding. I still remain deeply embarrassed about the life-changing event at my home that night, and while the incident only last for a few seconds it haunts me to this day. I wish I could take back that moment in time and react differently, but I realize that I can’t.

I acted out of true love to protect my family. And while it would have been nice for my side of the story to be printed, I realize that the press loves a sensational story. Words such as assault, machete and deadly weapon sell more papers than talking about a dad trying to keep intruders out of his house.

I am not about to let a few seconds define me. I refuse to let it impact me, my wife, my children or my company. To anyone who remains unconvinced regarding my character after reading this post, I make you the same offer which I extended to the reporter who wasn’t interested: come spend a few days with me, get to know me, and see how I conduct myself with my family as well as my great team at IQ Formulations.

If anyone out there decides not to do business with us because of that article, then that is their choice and I respect their decision. I am very comfortable with the knowledge that my business associates and friends know who I am as a person and what I stand for.

My team and I love what we do and it shows. Life is short and each day is an amazing gift. Healthy living is happy living, and IQ Formulations and I are never going to stop working to make the lives of our devoted customers healthier and happier. That’s what gets me out of bed every morning and drives our company to excel.

Thank you for the trust that you place in us, and for taking the time to get to know us.